TORONTO - Aboriginal land claims should be resolved as quickly as possible, but not in isolation from the big-picture issues that plague Canada's First Nations, says former prime minister Paul Martin.
Martin considers it ''inconceivable'' that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government hasn't supported the all-but-defunct $5-billion Kelowna accord he helped to forge -- a "historical'' agreement that he says represented a "true coming together'' of Ottawa, the provinces and territories and First Nations leadership.
"No one could deny that aboriginal Canadians are entitled to the same health-care outcomes and same educational outcomes as other Canadians,'' Martin said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"This should not be a partisan fight. This should be a fight to improve the quality of life of aboriginals, pure and simple, and I don't know why the government wants to make it a partisan fight.''
Signed during the fleeting last moments of Martin's brief tenure as prime minister, the accord sought to improve the education, employment and living conditions of aboriginal people through government funding and other programs with promises to measure those outcomes over a 10-year period.
The Conservatives said they were committed to meeting its targets, but did not support a private members bill backed by the Liberals, the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP that passed in March, and are therefore not obliged to support it financially.
Although Kelowna had nothing to do with land claims, which appears to be the issue galvanizing First Nations communities as they gear up for a nationwide protest at the end of June, Martin said his government had taken steps to address those issues separately.
The Conservatives have tried to ease growing aboriginal frustration by promising a new effort to clear a backlog of more than 800 claims that includes an independent tribunal and $250 million over 10 years, compared to the $1.9 million committed by the previous government.
The 68-year-old Martin said he plans to "commit a good portion of the rest of his life'' to aboriginal rights and lend his support to the First Nations plight at a public forum in Toronto two days before the national day of action June 29.
Organized by Anishnawbe Health Toronto and retired University of Toronto public health professor Dr. Chandrakant Shah, the event is intended to educate the public about treaties, land claim settlements and the impact of government policies on the life of First Nations people.
A recent inquiry into the shooting death of aboriginal protester Dudley George by police at Ipperwash Provincial Park in 1995 concluded there's a severe lack of public understanding of aboriginal rights in Canada.
"In the non-aboriginal community, from time to time we see different protests. We see the blocking of the CN railway or a housing complex being built near First Nations (land) . . . and most of us don't understand why these things are going on,'' Shah said.
"It's extremely important to show this is not an aboriginal non-aboriginal issue. This is a Canadian family issue.''
National and regional chiefs have called for peaceful demonstrations on June 29, but there are fears some communities could block highways and railway tracks -- something that could spark confrontations with law enforcement.
There have been other high profile flareups by aboriginals in Canada, including another involving a land claim in Ontario at a housing complex in the town of Caledonia that has been marked by several violent clashes with police spanning more than 15 months.
"It's long frustration for the people,'' Shah said. "People are frustrated and people, when they are extremely frustrated and broken promises are made. . . sometimes react differently.''
Shawn Brant, a Mohawk protester from the Bay of Quinte First Nation who led a 30-hour rail blockade last month near Deseronto, Ont., outside of Belleville, said he welcomes any show of solidarity by non-aboriginal Canadians.
By disrupting the country's economic machine for a single day through peaceful blockades of rail lines and highways, the government "will have no choice but to listen'' to the people who "bury their kids on a daily basis or put them to bed hungry,'' he said.
"It's a day for economic disruption. It's not a day of violent confrontation,'' Brant said.
"But by the same token, if there's action taken to remove this or policing action that's taken, I know that the anger that exists within the First Nations community is going to be such that people are going to stand on those lines and they're going to defend themselves.''
Shah said the government's recent concessions appear to have been welcomed by the aboriginal leadership, which he said is more inclined to peaceful marches on Parliament Hill.
But there's a divide between First Nations communities and their leaders, he added.
National Chief Phil Fontaine "has really taken himself out of the position of credibility'' by "embracing the legislation,'' and many still feel the proposal falls short of what they are looking for, Brant said.
Fontaine could not be reached for comment.
The public forum will take place June 27 from noon to 2 p.m. at the University of Toronto's Ontario Institute of Education.
